


Everyday

by Sukie_Kagamine



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: Amnesia, Basketball, Canon Gay Character, Future Fic, Loving Marriage, M/M, Marriage, Memory Loss, Protective Chad, Slice of Life, Twenty Years Later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 01:01:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15546150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sukie_Kagamine/pseuds/Sukie_Kagamine
Summary: "So you're probably wondering, why the hell is Chad Danforth sharing the same bed with me, and why the hell is he acting so weird." Chad's low voice was comforting, but wasn't enough to calm Ryan down. He was panting, squirming, trying to get away. "Please don't freak out, I'm gonna explain it all to you.""...Explain." Oh, so the embarrassingly stuttering voice was his. The Ryan.exe has stopped working."Well, a short answer, I was sharing your bed and acting all couple-y to you because I'm your husband and we're married."





	Everyday

The single sun ray managed to pass the tiny slit between the dark curtains to go straight to his face, but he didn't mind. The feelings were too good for just a little light to wake him from his wonderful, peaceful, recharging sleep. His room was never at the right temperature, it was too large with lots and lots of spaces that he hadn't yet found a way to place some more wardrobes in, and even when the heating systems were always working at their best, he was usually cold. The blankets and pillows helped. But this feeling he was having right now was perfect, and he stretched his body like a cat, still not opening his eyes. Today, it was warm, a little bit hot even, but so relaxing and cozy that he wanted to stay like this forever. He was tangled in a mess of covers, lying next to his unusually warm and slightly harder stuffed giant ducky, and nothing felt better.  
Last night was a blast: he still couldn't believe he was given a scholarship to Juilliard, heavens! Can't believe he was so good, his choreography and performance was so good that the Juilliard people had to consider a second scholarship for him, aside from Kelsi, completely off their intentions. It was definitely the proudest moment of his life, standing on the stage with spot light pointing at him and people cheered for him madly. The tiny bit of seeing Sharpay's sad look couldn't ruin the joyful moment, and for once in his life, he was focused more in himself and his own life, his own happiness than what she might think.

 

  
And the sleep last night was good, so good. Normally, when people were excited, they couldn't sleep. Ryan, well, he slept like a log after days and nights working his ass off to make up the whole show and got his fingers wrapped tight around his dream. And now when he woke up, even when he hadn't opened his eyes yet, he felt good. Full of energy and the floating happiness and excitement. Right now, he shouldn't care about Sharpay's sadness, nor everything he would have to leave behind when he come to New York: his Wildcats new friends, his parents, his childhood memories, and Danforth. Danforth should be the last thing he cared about right now.

 

  
Ryan grunted as he opened his eyes, swung his legs over the edge of the bed at the thought of the jock. He was feeling so good and optimistic about his bright coming future, and one tiny thought about Danforth's eyes turned his guts upside down. Even worse than Sharpay. Sharpay could heal and get over it. With the thought of Danforth, he couldn't.

 

  
Ryan froze in his place, eyes blinked rapidly to sharpen the last of the blur to look at the thing on his bed next to him more clearly. That was definitely NOT his familiar stuffed giant ducky. Oh god, no wonder it felt so warm. Fuck, it was a person. Not a stuffed animal. And a male person, with dark chocolatey skin, curly hair and stone hard abs and muscles. Fuck.

 

  
"Oh, hey, you're up." The person's eyelashes fluttered for a few second as he spoke before the brown eyes were looking straight at his, his mouth opened in a lazy smile and he reached up to brush his fingers along Ryan's cheek. It was the sexiest, warmest sleepy voice Ryan had ever heard in his life. "G'morning, sunshine."

 

  
Ryan literally turned into a frozen statue. An absolutely still, liveless statue, which didn't have heartbeats, didn't breath, and didn't blink. His eyes were wide opened, mouth an o, and he just sat there, silent.

 

  
"You're not screaming today." Chad propped himself from the bed, a mischievous smirk flashed across his lips. "You always scream when you see me in the morning."

 

  
Ryan's brain shut down on him. It didn't work. Like, at all. All he could do was sitting there, staring at the face he had just cursed in his head, as silent as a crypt. But his heart didn't stay still like a few seconds ago, it started beating hysterically. Sweat rolled on the side of his face as he opened his eyes wide to look at the man facing him, panic rose in his chest.

 

  
"Well that's weird." Chad shrugged as he moved closer. "You're just in shock, or maybe you have remembered me?"

 

  
Ryan's eyes moved along the big, strong hands that darted up to caress his cheeks, still speechless. It's like his brain had been completely off power, and his body stayed still with it. Someone stuttered, "I... I... Chad... Wha...What are you doing..."

 

  
"Oh, so you're just in shock." The man's face was disappointed, but he quickly push the expression away. Instead, he returned his look onto Ryan's face and the hands held sternly on his shoulders and arms. "Okay, now, don't scream, it's still early in the morning. Don't roll off the bed, I covered the floor with mattress in case you fall off like last week, but it's best not to let that happen again."

 

  
Ryan stared at the face so close to his own, and he freaked out. This is a man. This is Chad Danforth, but this is not his Chad Danforth. This is a man, an adult, a fully grown, gorgeous, godlike, man. Nothing like the hyperactive teenage boy he saw yesterday. Well, still the familiar dark skin, the familiar lines on his face, brown color of his eyes and curly dark hair, but his hair was shorter, no longer bouncing when he turned his head, his face was older, the lines more stoic, manly, and it was both hot and terrifying at the same time. This was Chad Danforth, but he was different. Older?

 

  
"So you're probably wondering, why the hell is Chad Danforth sharing the same bed with me, and why the hell is he acting so weird." Chad's low voice was comforting, but wasn't enough to calm Ryan down. He was panting, squirming, trying to get away. "Please don't freak out, I'm gonna explain it all to you."

 

  
"...Explain." Oh, so the embarrassingly stuttering voice was his. The Ryan.exe has stopped working.

 

  
"Well, a short answer, I was sharing your bed and acting all couple-y to you because I'm your husband and we're married." Chad grinned, the grin Ryan knew he always had when he succeeded in pranking people, and the blond fell off the bed in an instant.

 

  
"No, no, no no no no no," He crawled up on his feet, grateful for the layer of mattress covering the floor, and bolted to the door, ignoring Chad's laugh. He knew it. It was a fucking prank, and he was going to tear this asshole's throat out, he swear.

 

  
Chad was still laughing, but he got off from the bed and chase after him. He caught up with the blond easily, because he was just standing there, panicking at everything. This was not his house, this was a completely strange place, and he knew nothing about how he got here. For god's sake, he didn't even know where the stairs were.

 

  
"What the fuck did you do, Danforth?!" He turned around to face the man and growled, already felt tear rising in his eyes. God, he hate how much of a baby he could get, but he couldn't help it: Danforth, the most typical straight guy, kidnapped him here in his sleep just so he could create a prank and make fun of him for being gay. Those were angry tears.

 

  
"Hey, hey, calm down." Chad held him by hands placing on his hips, and he clawed at them furiously. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out more, I'm so sorry. It's just," He leaned in to kiss the blond gently on his lips, smiling. "You look cute when you're angry. Dangerous and deadly, but cute."

 

  
Ryan was staying still again, not knowing how to digest the previous actions.

 

  
"Hey, let's get back to the bed and I'll explain it to you, okay? For real, this time." Chad led him back to the bed, practically dragged him back, and put him down on the mattress.

 

  
"Okay, so, I wasn't lying about being your husband." Chad raised the back of his left hand for Ryan to see, and god, it was a silver band on his ring finger, sparkling with a single blue diamond. No, not silver. Platinum. How did he know that? Because it was his dream wedding ring, the ring that he had liked from the first moment he saw it in the shop when he went out with his cousin to pick a pair of rings with her. He bought it immediately that day and brought it home, keeping it in the safe in his room, telling himself that he was gonna give it to his mate later in life, when he grew up. They were a pair of beautiful, expensive and elegant wedding rings, everything he ever wanted. The other of the pair, a slightly thinner, more delicate, but with the same material and gem...

 

  
"And I'm not lying when I say you're my husband, too." Chad held up Ryan's left hand, and the ring was there. Ryan's heart sped up as his hand shook and he looked at Chad, frightened.

 

  
"We're married on June 26th, 2015, when same-sex marriage was legalized in all over the USA." Chad slowly continued, letting the information sink in.

 

  
"...2015?" Ryan stopped breathing.

 

  
"Yes, Ryan, it's 2025 now. Not 2008 anymore. We're both 35, and we've been married for 10 years." Chad spoke to him with a silly smile across his face as he placed a kiss on the platinum band on Ryan's finger.

 

  
"How... Why... What the hell is going on?" Ryan exclaimed, he looked around, trying to run again, but Chad held him back.

 

  
"God, I hate to say this to you every morning." Chad sighed, but he pulled Ryan closer and whispered to him. "You got into Juilliard, had a great time being with people that had the same passion as you. You graduated with flying colors, and got successful extremely quickly with your performing and choreographing in a very short time. We had always been happy together, and we decided to get married the day gay marriage was accepted. But you got into a car accident on your way to the tailor for your wedding suit. Sharpay was with you, she was not paying attention to the road, and you pushed her away at the right time the drunk driver came, and you got hurt. Badly. I was livid and shocked and frightened."

 

  
Ryan looked down at his stomach, realizing the old scars spreading on his flesh like nettle, all over his front and back, his stomach and chest. And among them was a large stitching mark, long and ugly, stood out shamelessly. The mark of a surgery.

 

  
"Everyone was in pain, and I was miserable. But thank god, you woke up after that. You made it through the accident alive and well, and your family, your friend and I couldn't be mỏe relieved." Chad traced his fingers along the scars. "But then you woke up and asked me why I was there."

 

  
"...What do you mean?"

 

  
"You got amnesia. Your memory will only last a day, and will be erased when you go to sleep. Also the memories of you going to college. You were sent back to your teenage years. The last thing you remembered was the graduation night from high school, and I guess it's also the last thing in your mind right now."

 

  
Ryan had never been more confused in his life, he swore. His head spinned with all of the foreign, impossible information, a story he wanted so bad to be fictional and not real. This couldn't be happening. He remembered everything perfectly well, he was only eighteen, yesterday was the day he graduated from high school, and he got a whole life ahead of him. College, career, his passion and future. There's no way he had passed all of that and not--But Chad knew what he was having in mind. Before he even said anything about what he remembered, Chad knew. He stared at the man with disbelief, or more accurate, not wanting to believe. He realized he'd rather see this turned out to be a prank, or a dream than keep trying to take in this entirely new reality. But it's true that Chad had changed: he was undeniably more mature, there was nothing could do that to a person in just a night. He got taller, so so much taller, with lean, hard muscles, and--

 

  
"I want to talk to Sharpay." Ryan quietly asked, and Chad nodded. He seemed to be so used to whatever he was about to say. Like he knew what Ryan was gonna do because he had seen it so many times.

 

  
"Here." Chad gave him his--thing, it was probably a cellphone, but it was so weird, with no button, large screen and ten times thinner than Ryan's flip phone. "It's a smartphone. You can control it by touching the screen."

 

  
"Right." Ryan took a sharp breath. He had never seen anything like this before. He prayed so hard for it to be a prank, but the longer it got, the thinner hope became. He touched his thumb on the calling symbol under Sharpay's name, and flinched when the screen flashed into calling mode. Shit, what the hell?

 

  
Chad chuckled, but he glared at him and he pressed his lips together. Damn it.

 

  
"Hey there. Is that you, Ryan?" Sharpay's familiar voice was so close to his ear, and he sighed in relief. Her voice stayed the same. This was a good sign. She was going to tell him that it was all a joke and come to take him home right away. This...party was not good.

 

  
"Yeah, it's me." Ryan's voice was quivering. "I... I just woke up next to Chad Danforth and he told me..." Please scream and come take me home right now, please.

 

  
"I'm so sorry, ducky, but what he said was true. You've been having amnesia and your memory hadn't served you for more than a day." Sharpay didn't sound like this. She never sounded so... So calm and kind. She should have yelled at him for being stupid and--

 

"Don't be afraid, sweetie, everything's okay, you'll calm down soon. I'm in Paris, but Chad is there with you, you'll be safe, I guarantee. How are y--"

 

  
Ryan looked at Chad with empty eyes, and turned off the phone. He kept staring wordlessly until the other man got closer and cupped his face in his strong hands. "You know Sharpay would never lie to you, don't you? You are safe with me. Don't be afraid."

 

  
Ryan got away, ran straight into the bathroom. Greeting him in the mirror was himself, looked exactly like yesterday, blond hair, pale skin. But not exactly. Ryan's heart beat an insane rhythm as he looked closer and saw how slightly different his face was, how his own jaw became sharper, there were more lines on his face, and so many, many more things. He touched his own face, knowing everything was not fake, and the reflection of Chad slowly came into view. The man wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed him on his temple.

 

  
"You, on the other hand, look exactly the same. You don't age, do you?"

 

  
"I--" Ryan put his hands on Chad's arms, trying to break them away. "If you know I only remember my eighteen year old night, how... Why are you acting like this? I forgot about our marriage and the whole time we dated, didn't I? You don't think I'm gonna report to the police about you molesting me?"

 

  
"Because I knew you already had a crush on me since high school, even before your amnesia could reach." Chad shrugged, and smiled. The smug smile that was familiar, and somehow he got a little less scared.

 

  
"How do you..." Damn it, he could see himself blushing in the mirror.

 

  
"Because you might have told me about it." Chad grinned and whistled lightly. "Everyday. For the past ten years."

 

  
Ryan bit his own lip. It was too embarrassing, and the smirk on Chad's face made it worse.  
"It's okay, I'm glad to hear that everytime. Thank god, if I had to play baseball with you everyday to make you fall in love with me all over again, I'm never gonna have a chance to touch you before the end of the day." Chad let go of him with and walked to the door. "Brush your teeth and do everything, I'll go prepare breakfast."

 

  
"...Wait." Ryan finally had the gut to turn around facing Chad, despite his bright red cheeks. "What do you mean touch me?"

 

  
The man laughed. "Can't believe you're this shy in high school. Honey, last night you rode me to the moon and back."

 

  
He could still hear the laugh ringing inside his ears long before that, and he just wanted to crawl into the corner and die. He sighed and started picking up the toothbrush that was likeliest to be his and started with his morning routine. His head was still spinning, heart still racing, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to cry or not. If all of this was true, he had lost seventeen years of his life and would continue to lose more of it until the day he died. The thoughts terrified him as he looked into the mirror. He had the mind of an eighteen year old boy, but the aging body of a human being that would get older and older everyday. What if one day he woke up like today, thinking that he was still eighteen, and found out that he was actually sixty years of age? And for ten long years, Chad was there for him, wasn't he? With this state, he doubted he could do anything for his career. He had to depend entirely on Chad, and what if one day Chad decided that he had had enough and leave?

 

  
Ryan splashed water on his face and quelled the urge to break the mirror in front of him. He hated it. He was a teenager yesterday, and now he was a middle age mental disabled man, losing the most beautiful part of his life with no memory of it. The thoughts, fear and hurt collided in him, and he shook violently, not knowing how to face this. He loved dancing and he got to Juilliard, but he remembered nothing about it. He loved Chad and he got married to the man, but he remembered nothing about it either. He could have had a career, doing what he was passionate about, maybe living with Chad for a while before coming to the marrying stuff, but he didn't know how it felt. It hurt, and it scared him.

 

  
"Hey, Ry." Chad came in again and took his arm. "Breakfast's ready. Come eat something and I'll show you what you missed."

 

  
Ryan followed him, tried not to let the tears rolled down and the trembling too obvious, but Chad turned to kissed his forehead soothingly before taking him downstairs to the kitchen. He looked so calm, probably doing this every morning in the past ten years making it all easier. Ryan grabbed his hands tight, tried telling himself that everything was gonna be fine. He tried not to stare at everything he passed in the house, the place was so strange he felt small and isolated.

 

  
"Everything is gonna be alright, Ryan. Trust me, it might seem scary at first, but the truth is, there's nothing to be worried about." Chad pulled the chair for him, and he sat down, realizing that his favorite breakfast was all laid out on the kitchen table.

 

  
The man sat down next to him with the same dish on his side of the table, and started digging in. Ryan was in no mood for eating, but the smell was inviting and he always knew looking at Chad devouring the food was always boosting his appetite. He tried the Egg Benedict himself, and the rich taste was melting his insides. He instantly forgot about the million thoughts in his head and continued to enjoy the delicious breakfast.

 

  
"You like it?" Chad smiled, and he nodded. "Yeah, you always do."

 

  
The TV was turned on, and Ryan spent a while looking at the news with awe. They did say it was 2025, and all of the current events that were happening around the world attracted him. The TV was huge, and so freaking thin, and the screen made all the image so, so real, better than even the most expensive TV he got in his bedroom at home in, well, 2008.

 

  
"Chad?" Ryan looked up from his empty plate after finishing the eggs.

 

  
"Yeah?" The other man looked at him with kind eyes, and he looked away.

 

  
"After I graduated from Juilliard, have I done anything? For my career, I mean. Did I manage to do anything? Did I get to perform? Or choreograph, organize a show, anything?"

 

  
"Yeah, you did. You got into a dance crew and go touring around the world. You performed on Broadway, and you shocked the world with your voice and moves." Chad grinned with uncaptivated pride. "And you choreographed for a bunch of different Broadway shows, movies and musicals. You won lots of awards, I still got them in the New York house's trophy room. You were phenomenal, really."

 

  
That sounded glorious. Ryan gripped tight on his fork and looked down at himself right now. He wanted that, he wanted to remember the feelings, but all he had now was Chad's words and his own imagination about what happened. He had been craving to be famous, to be the one in the spotlight, the winning one for so long he couldn't remember.

 

  
"How much did I make before I got amnesia?" His eyes snapped up from the table, and Chad frowned.  
"Why are you asking that?"

 

  
"Did I make enough money for myself to live on until I die? Or you had to spend ten years of your life having a parasite sucking from you?" He bit his lip. "Or did my parents have to pay everything for me like they always did for the rest of my life?"

 

  
"Damn it, Ryan." Chad pushed his chair and got up, came closer to him. "You were thinking about that shit?"

 

  
"That's not shit." Ryan covered his eyes. "I had been waiting to go out to the world and do things that I love my whole life. I wanted to do great things, making my parents proud and...you. The last thing I wanna be is the useless burden that you have to take care of everyday. Aren't you bored? Why haven't you got sick of me yet?"

 

  
"Okay, you're coming with me right now." Chad put an arm under his knees and the other behind his back, and lift him up effortlessly from the chair. "I'll show you what you've done for me, and your family."

 

  
Chad took him to another room in the maze of halls and rooms in the large house, and placed him on the ground. He closed the door behind them, and Ryan realized he was in a room covered in photos, papers and crafts. The photos in different sizes, different material, sticked to the wall messily, but somehow in the perfect order. They covered most of the spaces on the wall, but there were still empty, organized area in order to keep it from being crowded.

 

  
"It starts here." Chad took him to the first corner in the left, and pointed to something actually not a picture. It was a piece of paper, and Ryan narrowed his eyes to read the texts. It was a plane ticket from New York to Albuquerque, and with his name on it. The date said it was the end of 2013.

 

  
"What is this?" He looked at Chad, and the man pointed to the cast hung under the ticket.

 

  
"I had no idea about your crush on me when we were in East High, and I was with Taylor then. I didn't realize I was gay until you left for Juilliard, and Taylor left for Yale, but the only one I missed was you. I broke up with her when I found out, and she wasn't mad at me. But I didn't have the gut to tell you, I was uncertain and scared, we were still in touch as friends, but I said nothing about it. I came out, but none of my gay dates went anywhere. After graduating from the U of A, I went on playing pro and worked part time to pay my student loan, but only after a year, when I haven't even got anywhere yet, I broke my knee in a game, the injury was so seious I thought I would never be able to play basketball again. You flied straight from New York to see me in this plane, dropping your audition, your project, everything. You were there with me through the hardest time of my life. The whole time I was treated in the hospital, you borrowed your dad's helicopter to fly back and forth three times a week to check on me, and called everyday. When I got out of the hospital and recovered, I realized you used your own money from your singing, dancing and choreographing to cover my treatment and my student loan, because my family couldn't afford that."

 

  
Ryan blinked. Wow, okay, he didn't realize he would fall this hard for Chad even after he went to New York.

 

  
"And guess what, if it's not for your money, I wouldn't have been playing basketball anymore. You paid for my education, my treatment, and you were the only one that would abandon anything to come to me." Chad held his hand tighter. "You are my, say..."

 

  
"Sugar daddy?" The blond giggled, and Chad cut him off.  
"Shut up, I was about to say savior."  
So he was a little useful, then. Good to know.

 

  
"I wanted to repay you, but you said there was nothing I could do to make up for it, unless I became your boyfriend." Chad chuckled, traced his hand on the pictures next to it. Wow, post-Juilliard Ryan was a beast. "How could I say no?"

 

  
The next part of the wall was a hundred of pictures taken on every dates, all of the sweet, little things in their lives. It was difficult for both of them to find a way to be together, Chad said. His basketball team traveled a lot to participate in various championships, Ryan's shows were mostly in New York, but he sometimes got tours and concerts, and both of them were extremely busy. But Ryan had never missed a chance to find a way to see Chad, video call and real life short dates among rehearsals and basketball matches, and they always came to see each other's performance on stage and on court. They somehow made everything work, despite having the world standing against them. Somewhere among the pictures, Ryan saw small yellow notes with his, or Chad's handwritings, and the words couldn't be more loving and caring. Sometimes he saw pieces of broken cups and plates taped on the wall, and Chad said they had a fight on that day. But their fights usually never last for more than a few hours, because they missed each other too much to waste their precious together time in yelling. So much like the love story Ryan always dreamed of. They had everything.

 

  
And then they came to a photo of Ryan slipping the platinum band on Chad's ring finger, and they grinned to each other like idiots, forehead touching, like Troy and Gabriella usually did when they showed affection.

 

  
"I was proposing." Ryan tilted his head, smiling, and Chad took his hand, letting the two rings brushed.

 

  
"Actually, I was proposing first." He rolled his eyes. "But when I showed you my ring box and got on my knee, you said, Shit, I was about to propose to you too, look, I even brought the ring, so as the perfect boyfriend I am, I took the box away and let you be the husband instead."

 

  
"So you're the wife, huh." Ryan chuckled, and Chad pulled him away to the next picture.  
"We made the decision out of nowhere, you know." Chad rubbed his thumb against the ring on his hand in habit. "We hadn't even dated for a year and a half, and we only really met each other for one third of the time. No one thought it was a good idea. They thought we only wanted to get marry because it was going to be legalized soon. To be honest, yeah, we did, but that's not entirely the point."

 

  
"Do you regret it?" Ryan looked at him. "Wasting your life being with a someone who freaks out every morning, who doesn't remember you?"

 

  
"If I ever had a second thought, I would have cancelled our wedding the day I found out you had amnesia." Chad kissed his forehead.

 

"They think I wouldn't stay with you because you can't remember me, and you have the scars. I would like to prove them wrong."

 

  
"You don't ever wanna give up? Not one bit, for ten years?"

 

  
"Well, sometimes I do get frustrated. Because I wished you remembered every great things we've been through. It felt like keep trying and trying over and over without having any process. None of the therapies worked for you, even by the best doctor your parents could find." Chad stroke his hair. "But then you keep looking at me with your puppy eyes, asking if I love you, and I had to say yes. You made me who I am today, and it's my responsibility to take care of you."

 

  
"Responsibility." Ryan stepped to the next pictures, ignored him. His voice bitter.

 

  
"The responsibility to my heart, probably." Chad took his hand. The picture of the wedding tuxes that didn't have the chance to be worn at a wedding. The pain could have faded if he didn't have to look at all of the pictures everyday.

 

  
"Thank you." Ryan muttered as he looked at a thousand pictures of them in the last ten years, with Chad protecting him, taking care of him and never stopped caring for him. He owed this man his entire life, and there was nothing he could do to repay him.

 

  
"Come on, I have a day off to relax before the game tonight, let me take you out." Chad tugged his sleeve with an excited smile.

 

"You're gonna love California."

 

  
"California?" Chad grinned at the blond's naive expression.

 

  
"Yeah, I mean, I have to take you with me if I go on with my team playing around the country." He shrugged.

 

  
"This isn't your--our house in Albuquerque then what is this?" Ryan blinked.

 

  
"Oh, this is still our house." Chad took him to another room, where the walk in wardrobe was so large even Ryan had to stare. "We have like, five or more, in the cities I usually have to go to."

 

 

  
"What?" The blond was freaking out again. If those were what his parents provided them...

 

  
"Oh my god." The blond turned around to stare at Chad's smug grin in disbelief. "You're a _star_."

 

  
It was an hour later, when they, Ryan mostly, had finished dressing up, they were walking leisurely on the busy streets of California hand in hand, and Ryan felt his untamed obsession with big bright cities flaring again. The city was huge, crowded, sparkling and extremely noisy. It was beautiful, and he quickly dove into the atmosphere, laughing and walking and looking at everything with curious, wide eyes. And the giant banners of Chad's basketball team hanging in every corner, even in the city centre, cracked Ryan's code. How did he know it was Chad's team? His face was the largest among them all. And it wasn't just some random team, it was the Knicks.

 

  
"Five houses shouldn't be a problem." The man smirked and kept walking passed him.  
He should have been jealous of Chad's incredible success, his familiar selfish and envious nature usually did that in every circumstances, but it was strange he didn't feel anything other than pride and happiness. It's like seeing him as a dreamy, optimistic, ambitious teenage boy yesterday and woke up to see him already on the top of glory. It was some sort of fairy tale where the one who dared to dream got to make that dream come true. And Chad... He was having a crush on Chad before he went to sleep, and he hated how the boy had become ten times more gorgeous, gentle and simply perfect when he opened his eyes.

 

  
He knew everything about Ryan, the smallest habits and how he thought, how he saw things, what were his favorites. He held Ryan's hand all the way, guiding him through the busy streets and letting him walk in the inner side of the pavement, covering him from the traffic. He listened to Ryan's babbling, answered his silly questions about the 2025 world, telling him all of the stories and looked at him with endearing eyes. It made Ryan felt safe, warm and carefree. Like how all he needed was Chad and he had to worry about nothing else. Chad treated him like a prince, but all so obvious, like he had done it for so long. Probably, he had done that for a long time.

 

  
"Oh my god, that's Chad Danforth!" Some one yelled from afar, and Ryan only had enough time to blink before a wave of people pushed him away from his spot and he lost Chad. The man was caught off guard, but he didn't seem to mind how fans surrounded him and asked for his signature and photos with chirping, excited voices. He smiled at them politely and started telling them something, making them squealed. Ryan shook his head as he grinned and stood aside, letting people get closer to their dream player. Chad had been engulfed by Troy's shadow for too long, and he guessed it ended long time ago, but he still loved seeing the man being in the spotlight himself, shining and getting all of the attention for his talent. He was just as amazing as Troy could be, and Ryan couldn't be more happy for him. He totally deserved it.

 

  
Ryan didn't notice how the crowd split aside, the press and all, leaving Chad a clear way straight to him. Suddenly, he felt his hand covered by Chad's, and he looked up to see the curious crowd starting to surround him too. The feelings were strange, having so many people around you who admired and idolized you. But it was all Ryan ever wished to experience. Among all of the questions about the incoming basketball game and Chad's career, some journalists with a recorders in their hands apporached them and tried to get their voices heard.

 

  
"Mr Evans-Danforth, how does it feel being married to a world famous basketball player? How is your marriage going on?"

 

  
"Mr Evans-Danforth, could you tell us more about the life outside of the basketball court? Are you two happy?"

 

  
"Do you have any intention of releasing a new musical product in the near future to celebrate 10 years of your successful marriage?"

 

  
"Mr Evans-Danforth, is it true that you retire from stage to take care of your family with Mr Danforth?"

 

  
He admitted, the loads of questions falling on him from everywhere were a tiny bit scary. He was prepared to be a star, he was born for it, being surrounded by the press and the fans wasn't something he was not ready for, but the questions about a marriage he hadn't been in for more than twenty four hours and all of the assumptions about him was overwhelming.

 

  
Chad stepped in for his rescue. "Please, gentlemen, the questions are in a little too much detail, don't you--"

 

  
"Yes, we are happy with our marriage." Ryan said, loud and clear. "I might not be the perfect husband, but he cared for me more than I can ever ask for."

 

  
The ooohs coming from the crowd were rising, and Ryan smiled at Chad. What was his nickname in the NBA again? Right, The King. "My husband is my King, and my King is my husband. And retiring from the stage, it's because of the reason of health. But having more time for Chad made up for the lost of it."

 

  
Chad was taken aback, he looked at Ryan with surprised eyes, and after their eyes came into contact, he knew the blond was saying what he really meant. The man grinned and bent down a bit to kiss Ryan chastely on the lips. The crowd exploded, and they used the chaos to sneak away.

 

  
"Are we safe yet?" Ryan leaned over to look at the corner, and no one jumped out to continue following them, so he guessed they were clear.

 

  
The blond turned back to have the same pair of lips covered his own with uncaptivated yearning, and he automatically held onto the other one's back. The kisses tasted different everytime they did this. This morning, Ryan felt stiff. He had always wanted to kiss Chad Danforth, but finding himself in this situation was a too big problem to care about anything else. It feared him a little, seeing how incredibly intimate Chad's kisses could be. But slowly, the more he got to know this man, the sweeter those kisses became. Chad's tongue was gentle as everything he did, the way he capture Ryan's mouth in the perfect angle, nibbling his lips at the perfect spot and caressed his mouth so easily, so precisely made the blond knew how much time he spent doing this. He understood Ryan's body, every part of him, every way to make him feel good.

 

  
"I was about to say sorry for pulling you into the center of the attention, I just wanted to show them my Queen," Chad chuckled and Ryan bit him. "But I guess it's not necessary, eh?"

 

  
"I'd love to be your Queen." Ryan looked up at him under his eyelashes and sighed, and Chad had to kiss him again.


End file.
